Category Archives: daily

Reading

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Reading is one of my great pleasures.  Anyone who has seen the pictures of our flat will realize that my husband and I are *huge* bibliophiles.

So, what is on those shelves?

A plethora of things.  I like Mysteries, with Laurie R King being one of my favorites.  Simon likes Alternate Histories.  We both read Science Fiction.

Some of the books on our shelves are unmitigated trash.  And we know this.  Occasionally we like to read trash.  No romance novel trash, but adventure novel trash.  A big favorite is Matthew Reilly, the man of !!! and 2 sentence chapters.  And the 59th Minutes of the 11th Hour Saves.  We both enjoy him.

Some of the books on our shelves are first editions.  I have several Firsts by Robert A Heinlein, my favorite Science Fiction Author, hands down.  I have every book he ever wrote, including the ones written for him posthumously.  And I have several of them in both cheap paperback and First Edition.  If you ever come to my house, please ask before reading any of my Heinlein books, thanks.  I am trying to keep the Firsts in good condition!

We also read humour.  Simon likes UK political humour.  I am a huge Dave Barry fan.

And we have comic books, all kinds of comic books.  Graphic Novels, single issue, you name it, we have it.

We both read, constantly.  I always have a book with me.  And so does Simon.

Reading is, indeed, fundamental.

Oh.My.God.

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I just unpacked the last three boxes.  Its really truly done.

Still a few things to rearrange, but I will do that tomorrow, since it is May Day Bank Holiday tomorrow and I am off work.

Once that is done I will take more pictures to show y’all.  So stay tuned!

So what are we doing with our three bedrooms?

Well, the Master Bedroom, is, of course, mine and Simon’s bedroom.

The middle, small bedroom is now the library.  I have even turned the single bed in there into a sort of couch, so come on over and pursue the shelves, grab a book and curl up!  There are even throws if your feet get cold!

And the third bedroom is for guests.  It also has bookshelves in it (as does the hallway), but I think it is still a cozy little place for a guest to spend the night.  Or for me to spend the night when I can’t sleep and don’t want to wake Simon with my tossing and turning.

So I am very satisfied with what we have here.  I think we’ll stay awhile, if the landlord is okay with that.  We’ll see in about 7 months!

Playing Games

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I like games.  Puzzle games especially.  But I am also a big Feeding Frenzy fanatic.  We have it for the XBox 360.

What I like about it is that it starts slow and builds up in good stages.  First level is just you and the fish who can eat you.  Then they add additional predators and things to eat, until there is so much going on the screen you are dashing around like a maniac!  A lot of games ramp up too fast, but Feeding Frenzy is just perfect.

But mostly what I play are puzzle games.  Picross for the DS is my favorite, hands down.  I play it over and over, trying to beat my times on each puzzle.  I also play Denki Blocks for the Game Boy Advance, which can be played on the DS.

And I have recently purchased Crush for the PSP.  Also a lot of fun but HARD!

And in case you’re wondering, Simon and I own: a PS2, an Xbox, an Xbox 360, Two Nientendo DSes and a PSP.

Yes, we are geeks, thanks for asking.

Longest Nap Ever

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I was feeling ill today, but I went to work because we had a very important Staff Meeting to announce that we were moving our office.  But I left at 12:30p.  And fell asleep at about 1:30.  And woke up a bit after 5, only because Simon came in to make sure I was okay!  Longest.Nap.Ever.

I do feel better, though.  Still rather sleepy, so it will be an early night, but not as sick as I was feeling this morning when I dragged my ass to work.

So, yeah, moving our office.  Next Friday.  Spending next week packing the office in between writing the minutes from the Board Meeting.  And all the other stuff I have to get done.  Should be a fun week.  Really. I mean it.

The good thing about the move is that we will finally be in our own space.  No more worries about what we talk about or being too loud.  So that’s a plus.

The bad thing about the move is that now we will be very far away from our reception staff and meeting rooms.

Admin team isn’t sure this is going to work.  We’ll have to wait and see.

I Have A Question for Spammers…

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do you mean to tell me that nonsensical emails and comments on blogs *actually* works?  You mean to tell me that some people click and buy your Viagra or penis enlargement drug when you send them an email or post a comment in their blog?  I can see phishing working, but spam? Not so much.

This rant brought to you by the 10000000000000 spam emails I get at work every day (we are getting ready, *finally*, to install a spam filter) and the 5 – 10 spam comments I get on this blog every week.

Maybe I Am Not As Smart As I Think I Am…

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So I am currently reading The Boomerang Clue (aka Why Didn’t They Ask Evens?) by Agatha Christie. It was written in 1933.

In the book, the main character gets offered a job in South America. For £1,000 a year. And he is stoked about it.

£1,000 a year was a good salary in 1930s Britain, obviously. So the part I don’t get is how, in 72 years, basically one generation, we can go from £1,000 a year being a good salary to £1,000 a month being not quite enough.

Simon says part of it is decmilization. And, of course, inflation. But I still don’t get it.

Its like I also don’t get exchange rates.  Theoretically, if something costs about £20 in Belfast, shouldn’t that same something, based on the approximate current exchange rate, cost $40 in the US?  But it doesn’t.  For example, a book I just found on both Amzon.com and Amazon.co.uk. .com is $7.99.  .co.uk? £6.99.

So maybe I am not as smart as I think I am…cuz I just.don’t.get.it.

Depression and Self-Harm

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Let me preface this post with the note that I do not cut myself.  I do not self harm that way.

So how do I do it?  By picking my pimples. Yes, that is considered self harm behavior.

My face is very discoloured under my chin from picking at the pimples there.  I am trying to break myself of the habit, but I think it does two things for me.  It gives me ‘worry spots’ and, in some odd way, it sooths me.

I don’t just pick my face.  I pick anything on my body that’s pickable.  I had a very odd cut on my upper right arm that I picked the scab on.  I pick in grown hairs on my knees.  Anything I can get my fingernails into, I pick.

Its gross.  I know its gross.  And I try very hard to not do it in public. Or even in front of my husband.  But I also don’t always realize I’m doing it.

I am not sure I will ever be able to stop completely.  Even when I am at my most stable, I do it.  Some people rock in place to sooth.  I pick.

Now That’s What I Call a Productive Morning…

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Started at 8:30 with laundry folding.  Went on to final bookcase building.  Finished with deep bathroom cleaning (both bathrooms) and rounded it off with a lovely soak in the tub.

Now I am going to help Simon carry empty boxes and other rubbish to the bins in the basement and then curl up and have a lovely Sunday Afternoon Nap (TM).

In other news, I am going back on my ‘c food diet’.  That mean, basically, no foods that begin with the letter c.  No chips or crisps or chocolate or cookies or curries or cola.  Carrots and Coriander are okay!

I Don’t Want To Spoil Anyone

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but I have to point out that in this week’s Doctor Who, its the PA who figures out there what the really weird thing is that is going on!

Once again, I have to point out…Don’t mess with the PA!

This PA, the one writing this blog, kicked ass herself on Friday at work.  Managed to copy, bind and get into envelopes all the Board Papers within 30 minutes.  That’s cuz me and my team rock!

In other news…have two big nights planned over the next two months.  End of May we’re having a reunion drink up at work.  I’ve invited all our old staff to join us for some food and booze.  Should be good criac.

Then at the beginning of June is our yearly Charity Pub Quiz.  Also should be good craic.  Our charity this year is the Darwin200, which celebrates Darwin’s 200th birthday next year.  Very sciencey of us, don’t you think?